A contest pitting teams like James Madison against North Dakota — teams built around hard-hitting styles — comparison to a heavyweight boxing match might come to mind.

Coming off a two-week layoff due to COVID-19 protocols, James Madison coach Curt Cignetti described the Dukes’ return to action at William & Mary as “a playoff game.” 

Wild, back-and-forth games decided on the final possessions, carrying weighty implications in the pursuit of conference and national championships: No, it’s not March Madness. 

Conference play in the Colonial Athletic Association officially kicked off in this first weekend of March — and what a way to kickoff. 

Contrasts in the importance of finishing stronger than a team starts shaped the final weekend before Colonial Athletic Association competition kicks off in the 2021 spring season.  

More than 13 months passed between the end of James Madison’s last season and kickoff of the current, but the Dukes look like they missed no time at all. 

COVID-19’s impact on the college football landscape reached far beyond the postponement of the 2020 FCS season until the spring. The early-period National Signing Day underscores the point. 

James Madison football used 212 yards on the ground and 467 yards overall to defeat No. 3 Weber State 30-14 on Saturday evening in Bridgeforth Stadium.

James Madison is one win away from punching its ticket to Frisco, Texas, thanks to an absolutely dominant defensive effort that led to a 17-0 victory over sixth-ranked Northern Iowa in the FCS quarterfinal round on Friday night.

Redshirt-freshman quarterback Jeff Undercuffler threw six TD passes and Juwan Green hauled in two TDs as the University at Albany football team rolled past Central Connecticut State, 42-12, in the program’s first-ever FCS Playoff win.

In a week bereft of Top 25 matchups in the Football Bowl Subdivision, the Colonial Athletic Association filled the void with a Top 10 showdown.

STONY BROOK, N.Y. – Stony Brook's football team rushed for 247 yards and passed for 196, while the defense held visiting Bryant to just 38 rushing yards enroute to a 35-10 season-opening victory on Thursday night at Kenneth P. LaValle Stadium.

RICHMOND, Va. – The University of Richmond football team opened the 2019 season in impressive fashion, scoring 31 first half points on its way to a 38-19 victory against Jacksonville Thursday night at Robins Stadium. The Spiders have won 14th straight home openers dating back to 2005, the ninth longest streak in the NCAA FCS level.

NEWARK, Del. – After finding its footing inside new Delaware Stadium with 15,894 on hand, No. 22/23 Delaware used redshirt sophomore Thyrick Pitt's career night to remain unbeaten all-time against in-state foe Delaware State Thursday night by a 31-13 final."We're very happy to have found a way to win the game," said third-year head coach Danny Rocco. "It probably wasn't the worst thing for our team to be in a competitive game in the locker room at halftime and come out of the locker room in the second half and perform."After a first quarter dominated by kickers, redshirt senior Pat Kehoeput the Blue Hens in front with a 21-yard scamper into the endzone to make it 10-6 for Delaware's first touchdown of the season and open a 28-0 scoring run.

Guys, we have a new recurring (probably) concept that you can file under “ideas that probably aren’t lame.” We’re going to call it our Grainy Game of the Week.